I have tried almost every over- the- counter acne medicine and nothing works. What can I use to lose my acne?

I have tried everything you can think off and nothing will work! I wash my face everyday, scrub my face, and it still will not clear up. I have even bought Proactiv and it does not work! Any suggestions, please submit!I have tried almost every over- the- counter acne medicine and nothing works. What can I use to lose my acne?
I had the same problem not that long ago when I was like 20 and I went to a dermatologist. Best thing I ever did! It was a little on the spendy side, just like any doctor but she put me on birth control pills and prescription creams that cleared up my face.I have tried almost every over- the- counter acne medicine and nothing works. What can I use to lose my acne?
the only thing that will lose you acne, is your youth.
Don't scrub your face, it will make your oil glands overactive.


See a dermatologist-- ask your regular doctor for a referral to one.


I had to use minocycline (an oral antibiotic) and finacea, a topical cream-- I have rosacea, also. There are many treatment options-- a dermatologist should look at your face and help decide which one will be best. It may take a couple of different tries.


In the meantime, be sure your makeup is oil-free and says ';won't clog pores'; or ';non-acnegenic'; on it. Be sure your face wash doesn't overly ';clean' your face-- if your face feels tight %26amp; dry after you wash it, your product is too strong; this will also make your oil glands overreact and make you break out more.


Good luck!
I use this brand called Murad from Sephora.


It took a little while, but eventually worked for me.
Toothpaste, lime juice, tomato slices, home made packs can be used for treating acne. You can find more cheap, effective and natural home remedies for pimples at http://www.wellnesstalk.org/acne.html
I posted this to another girl's question about acne today:





yay i had your same problem about 2-3 months ago. i had severe acne and nothing that i bought over the counter worked (i have a trash bag full of face washes and creams that didn't work) and neither did the antibiotics and topicals that my doctor gave me. i had the works, cystic acne, black heads, and pustules, not to mention that the acne left red spots on my face once they were gone. I never wanted to leave the house, thats how bad my face was. I did eventually find a routine that worked and is affordable! oh yeah and pro-activ and acnefree didn't work for me either. Also Murad from Sephora didn't work for me. Here's my routine:





1.) Wash face with ';Purpose'; liquid soap (about 7 dollars CVS) GENTLY (less irritation = less zits) for NO MORE than 10 seconds. pat dry. wait 5 minutes or until face is completely dry.





2.) swipe ';stridex benzoyl peroxide power pads'; (the only place i know where you can get them is CVS) gently over your face. each pad has 2.5% benzoyl peroxide which is proven to be just as effective as 5% and 10%, the only difference is that 2.5% is less irritating! I really like these pads because other benzoyl peroxide creams and gels dry out my face and irritate it when i put lotion on, but these don't! wait 5 minutes or until face is completely dry.





3.) put on face lotion. one that is oil free, noncomedogenic (won't clog pores), and has SPF 15 or higher. Before i used ';Aveeno ultra-calming daily moisturizer';, but now i use ';Garnier Nutritioniste skin renew anti-sun-damage daily moisture lotion'; (it's new, 13 dollars at CVS) to help with the red spots on my face that the acne left behind. The Garnier is cheaper and has more SPF than the Aveeno! Plus the Garnier lotion has more pros.





do this routine twice daily, once in the morning and once at night. The key to this routine is to be as gentle as possible when washing your face and putting on the topicals. washing your hands between steps and changing your pillow case regularly will help too. make sure you don't wash your face for more than 10 seconds or your face will get dry. washing your face is only to remove make-up/oil/dirt and prep your face for step 2. This routine saved me, hopefully it will for you too!
Buy the colgate toothpaste, the actually paste kind, not gel. At night, put a dab on your zits and let it dry overnight, in the morning, the zit should be dryed out :)
How long to you use the products before giving up? You need to set up a system and continue with it for a few months.





Find a face wash with either benzoyle peroxide or salicytic acid. Both are acne medications. I use Clearasil Ultra.





Next, you need an astringent with either of those two acne medications in it too. I use Seabreeze and it works the best in my experience.





Now you need an exfoliate. I used St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I makes your skin very smooth.





This one's optional. I use a light benzoyle peroxide gel on my face after washing and applying astrigent. It's best for either spot treatments. I use it all over my face for an even coverage.





Do this: wash your face, then exfoliate 3 times a week, apply astringent, allow it to dry, then, if you choose the gel, apply it. You have to dedicate yourself to this system or nothing will work for you. I didn't have bad acne on my face, but I had it really bad on my chest upper arms and back. This was the only thing that got rid of it all. And here I am 5 years later...acne free and I still use all of these products.





Good Luck! :)








~Icarus
this is a bit experimental, but my brother cut milk out of his diet and his acne cleared up immensly. u might want to try reducing your protein intake. just trying to give u another option if the acne creams and chemicals arent working.
i really wish i knew =(


i also have tried everything you can think of.


i think you should go to a derm.


that's what ima do soon
I also suffer from really bad acne. I had horrible cysts and sand-type pimples that were so embarrassing for probably the last 2 years. The thing that saved me was my dermatologist. Seriously, if you want clear skin, go to one.





Mine put me on Retin-A, oral antibiotics, and Yaz birth control. I love the Retinol, I think it worked the best. Not only do I have WAY clearer skin (though I do still get the occasional minor breakout), but it's clinically proven against undereye baggies and wrinkles (I'm in my 20s so I have to start worrying!).





The first week and a half you are on retinol, which is a topical cream you put on your problem areas, you will get a slightly red face and flaky skin, just like if you had a minor sunburn. This is just because retinol makes your skin cells turn over at a faster rate, and though it's annoying, after the first week you'll be glad you were vigilant, because it goes away. You don't wear it during the day because it makes your face way more sensitive to the sun, so you can wear regular acne help during the day, if you want. Often the retinol makes your face a little more sensitive to other chemicals, but I have super sensitive skin and only experienced a little discomfort with this. You need to wear something with sunscreen, maybe just moisturizer even. The sun's rays will aggravate acne!





Now, I can't say it was the retinol completely alone, because I was taking the BC pills throughout this time. I stopped taking the antibiotics because I don't want to build up super bacteria, but I cleared up without them just the same. In addition, I used the Clean and Clear advantage wash at night and the Clean and Clear advantage acne spot treatment during the day, under my makeup (I wear A LOT of makeup, because even though I'm clear I have acne scars). In the morning I just washed off the retinol with warmish water and patted it dry. I also used a mild astringent day and night, I think it was neutrogena, and it was very gentle.





Biggest things I had to get over were these:


-Not to touch my face (most of my breakout areas came from this!)


-Not to expect immediate amazing results. Most acne treatments take about a month to show real, deep results


-Not to skip ANY washings/retinol nights. When I did this, I totally broke out. I even would not go out partying late because I wanted to go home and wash my face.


-If my face feels nasty (I have a very oily complexion), I would wash it (but just with water) and just apply astringent, if I had the chance, like if I was home early and it was 5 o'clock or something. Then I would wash it fo' rizzle when I was going to bed around 12.





If this doesn't work, you can also take accutane from a doctor, but it kinda ruins your liver (I hear), so it really freaked me out.





I know this is a SUPER long answer, but I feel so much better about my face and myself now that the acne is under control, that I want to share it with everybody! Don't give up! It may take a while to see results, like it did for me (3 months cuz I'm such a slacker about having a regimen, only 1 if you're righteous), but the results and confidence are SO worth it!





If you can't see a dermy, I would recommend Clean and Clear advantage, it's the best I've used (I didn't try proactive). You might also want to read ';The Skin Type Solution'; by Dr. Leslie Baumann. This helped me to understand my skin type, and even led me to go to a dermatologist. I have included some links that might help. Good luck!
Maybe you are scrubbing to much, try going to your dermatoligist.. they can prescribe something for you like retin -a or erythromiacin...


diet does contribute to acne some, so try eliminating processed foods and greasy, unhealthy items...


also hormones, if your a girl going on the pill might help.
if you want something form a drugstore buy clean and clear control cleanser with the clean and clear advantage oil-free moisturizer. if you have oily skin use both in the morning and at night. if you have combination or dry skin use only at night and apply the moisturizer in the morning. dont use bad makeup! for oily skin use powder. liquid foundation and oily skin just dont work well together. an awesome powder is physicians formula mineral loose powder. it soaks up unwanted oil and helps sensitive and acne prone skin. but the last thing you want to do is put loose powder on dry skin. dry skin needs to be hydrated throughout the day. use physicians formula mineral liquid makeup. it also helps sensitive and acne prone skin. another thing you can do with any kind of skin type is go with all natural cleansers. try zyporex, its all natural and just for acne. it gives you a really clean feeling. natural can be the best thing because it doesnt contain harsh chemicals that can irritate your face rather than help.
Try the biore warmimg cleanser. It opens up your pores and cleans them out. It works but don't give up, it may take a couple weeks to work.
Did u use the Sensitive product from ProActive. I use it now, it definitely works!!!!





The original one gave me a allergic reaction!
The citric acid in lemon has properties that can kill harmful bacteria present in acne. A paste of orange peels also cleanses the skin and fights harmful bacteria.Log on to http://tipsfromruby-acne.blogspot.com/ for a few home made tips to heal acne
I don't think that every OTC acne medicine your tried includes derma cleanse acne system from zenmed because you'll hardly find people dissatisfied with its effectiveness. If you haven't yet then I would surely recommend you to use this product for treating acne. It's great stuff containing all the perfect ingredients to fight acne right from the roots and at the same time keeping your skin nourished. This pack also includes a scar treatment cream which is definitely required by all acne sufferers. I am enjoying an acne free experience ever since I started using derma cleanse.
Try Murad Acne Complex it really works and doesnt dry the skin like proactive %26lt;======= SUCKS
i use to have a lot of acne and mine has gone away a lot. I've just been washing my face day and night with nitrogena and been drinking A LOT of water keeping my hands clean and avoiding touching my face. Hope it helps :)
sorry kiddo try changing ur dermatologist